Review: Beautiful Disaster by Kate Brian

CONTEMPORARY TEEN FICTION

She's back...

After wasting away in a mental institution for a year and a half, Ariana Osgood is finally back where she belongs. She has a new look, a new name, and a new life--all thanks to her former friend Briana Leigh Covington.

Now enrolled as a junior at the exclusive Atherton-Pryce boarding school just outside of D.C., Ariana sleeps in Frette sheets, flirts with the captain of the crew team, and gossips with the most beautiful girls on campus. She killed to get back her life of privilege. Just how far will she go to keep it?

I'm on a roll today! 1/3 of the Privilege series finished already in one day, especially considering that they're slightly longer than the Private series, is an accomplishment. And it pretty much shows how much I love the Privilege series.

Ariana is back, bitchier and crazier than ever with a shitload of problems. Kaitlynn Nottingham, the girl who knows about Ariana murdering Briana Leigh and who Ariana helped to rescue from prison, is demanding a million bucks so she can have the life of her dream. Ariana has no other way than to commit petty theft, stealing Rolex watches and money earned from a fundraiser that was actually supposed to go to charity. Plus, Lexa Greene, the most popular girl on campus, is dating Palmer Liriano, the hot captain of the team which Ariana is on, and Ariana doesn't like it at all. The very hot Palmer is so obviously attracted to her...but he's with Lexa, so he can't very well show his admiration for her, can he? All that Ariana knows is that she has to keep Kaitlynn's mouth shut and land Lexa's boyfriend for herself...no matter how she goes about to do so.

Love Ariana's character in this one! She doesn't even seem that psychotic. I mean, in Privilege, she was obviously still having problems. But in this one, she seems less like a cold-blooded killer and screwup than a glamorous, popular girl at her new boarding school. I know that murdering people isn't exactly glamorous or popular, but Ariana seems almost normal. Except for her panic attacks and unsuccessful breathing strategies that pop up when she's fearful of something. I could actually relate to her a little bit--she just wants a real life. And even though she might not deserve it, she's doing everything in her power to get it.

Plus, the other characters in Beautiful Disaster are also great. Palmer is so sexy that I'm already swooning for this fictional character. He represents everything that a good guy should--moral values, enthusiasm for his tasks, sweet and loving toward his girlfriend, and easily demonstrating outstanding leadership qualities. Lexa, while holding back everything that Ariana wants, is the sweetest character in this book. She cares for Ariana and her other friends and is devastated when Palmer suspects her of cheating near the end of the book. Soomie, Maria, and Brigit are also great, each of them Ariana's new popular friends. They have their distinct personalities and really are trying to be good friends to Ariana. And last but not least is Tahira, the "tacky" chick who hates Ariana. She's got spunk, I have to say, and while her personality may not be loveable, it defines her well as a character.

Aside from characters, the plot was excellent! Ariana wants--no, needs--this new life, but the twists that pop up along the way are hindering her from reaching her goal. She has so many conflicts, and I'm not saying they're undeserved--she deserves crap from other people for all the murders she's committed and the innocent people she's hurt--but conflicts always spice up a book and make the reader root for the main character. While I didn't want Ariana to be free and killing people left and right, I really was wondering if she had changed and deserved a wealthy, glamorous, fun life. Kate Brian has a way of twisting characters, molding them as horrible at first and then slowly opening up their inner stories.

Fantastic book, overall. I've got the rest of the series as well, ready to be read and reviewed, and I'll be starting the next one as soon as I finish this review. BTW, Beautiful Disaster lands five stars!